Sheffield Coalition against Israeli Apartheid are very disappointed with the Council’s response to their petition.
On Wednesday 6th March the Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid presented a petition signed by over 7,500 Sheffield citizens at a full council meeting. They called on the Council to:
- Stand in “unity and solidarity” with Palestinians, as they did with Ukrainians
- Welcome the work of the International Court of Justice
- Accept the Amnesty International designation of Israel as an “apartheid state”
- Declare Sheffield an “Israeli Apartheid Free Zone”, as the Council did in 1981 in relation to South Africa.
On the day the Council refused to debate the issue – even though 7500 was well above the threshold number required of 5000 – passing it to the Strategy and Resources committee. They committed to issuing a cross-party statement of solidarity: “Our clear intention is to issue a cross-party statement of solidarity in line with the petition we heard at full Council as soon as possible, and ideally before the pre-election period which begins on 26th March” leader of the Council, Tom Hunt, on 12th March. This statement was issued on 25th March: ‘A cross-party statement of solidarity’
Palestine Solidarity Campaign says this was a total disappointment to the campaigners who organised the petition who have written a response.
“It is completely inadequate and very disappointing. It does not even mention Palestine in the title or anywhere else in the statement. So, who is it in solidarity with? We welcome the sentence in the document: ‘Israel must comply with the orders in the International Court of Justice’s interim ruling in full’. But there is no mention of apartheid and no commitment on behalf of the Council to do anything. The statement is not ‘in line with the petition’!”, said Annie O’Gara for the Coalition.
“This completely disregards the swell of opinion in Sheffield in support of Palestine. We collected those 7,500 signatures in less than two weeks, everywhere people are raising thousands of pounds for Palestinians. The Council and your councillor are letting us down. We urge you to vote in the local elections on May 5th for the candidate that is most sympathetic with Palestine”.
The Coalition is urging all electors to question candidates at hustings and on the doorstep:
- Do you accept Amnesty International’s designation of Israel as a state practising Apartheid across historic Palestine? YES / NO
- Do you agree with the International Court of Justice that credible evidence exists that Israel is committing the crime of Genocide in Gaza? YES / NO
- Do you support the International Court of Justice’s inquiry into the legal consequences of the 57 year long Israeli Occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan? YES /NO
- Do you support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement? YES/NO
Annie O’Gara, who drafted the questions, told us “this issue has united people across communities and is deeply felt by many people in Sheffield. It is essential we know what our candidates think”.
I had a look at the different party’s websites to see what they had to say about Palestine.
Labour’s position is here. It reads ok until you realise what is missing. There is no condemnation of the illegal occupation of Palestine or the Apartheid system. They appear to see Israel and Palestine as two equals, rather than the oppressor and the oppressed. They don’t mention Genocide.
I searched the Sheffield Liberal Democrats site for “Palestine”, “Gaza” and “Israel” and got “No results found”. Cllr Joe Otten, (Chair of the Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee) has been outspoken on this and is the subject of an official complaint from Green Councillor Alexi Dimond over his comments that have been reported here. In this Tweet, Joe Otten seems to be supporting Zionism.
Sheffield Green Party have featured support for Palestine in election leaflets and Councillors have spoken at many of the demonstrations organised by Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. At Hagglers Corner you will see this .
Sheffield Green Party are members of the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. They have tweeted the following.
Sheffield Green Party are unequivocal in our support for Palestinians facing genocide and apartheid. We are proud to have proposed the first successful council motion in the UK calling for an immediate ceasefire & end to Israel’s genocidal campaign in Palestine. @SheffieldPSC
Sheffield Community Councillors don’t yet have a website or indeed any on-line presence that I can find, so it is difficult to know what they believe.
Sheffield Conservatives don’t mention Palestine on their website but the Conservative Government is supporting the Israeli Genocide by repeating their propaganda, selling arms and providing military support.
Sheffield TUSC has stood aside in Darnall Ward in favour of a pro-Gaza Independent candidate. However, I can find little of note on their website about Gaza apart from slogans like “Stop the War”. It will be interesting to see how they answer the PSC questions.
It seems to me that it is very clear which party Palestinian supporters should be voting for on May 2nd.
Tell the Truth Sheffield 